Attachment for knitting machines



Jan. 19, 1932.

ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 14. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Q I I I I zmrdlifichmn Jam-19, 1932. R- E. sci-[L 1,841,918

ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 14. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q I v I I gmentoc Jan. 19, 1932. R. E. SCHLETTER ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 gmen to'z Filed March 14. 1927 4 Sheets-Shet 4 m E W g 55% mm E -s w S Jan. 19, 1932.

R. E. SCHLETTER ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 14. 1927 Patented Jan. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES RICHARD E. SCHLETTEB, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE PATENT OFFICE ASSIGNMENTS, TO SCHLETTER & ZANDEB, INC., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING MACHINES Application filed March 14, 1927. Serial No. 175,270.

' My said invention relates to a knitting machine attachment and it is an object of the same to provide automatic means for reinforcing a stocking at 'a point which heretofore has been a source of dissatisfaction in that the stocking gives way at this point either by reason of wear or because the fabric pulls, due to weakness of the joint at the point referred to, which is that angle found at the junction of the conventional reinforced sole and the conventional reinforced toe.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reinforcement at this point which shall be concealed. by the ordinary low shoe 1 or which, if it becomes exposed, will exhibit a desirable conformation. According to my invention automatic mechanism is rovided which adds this. feature to the'stockmg, here shown as a full-fashioned stocking, without 29 interrupting the operation of the machine, thus conserving the time of the operative and increasing output.

Referring to the drawings, which are made a part of this application, and in which simi- 1a! reference characters indicate similar parts:

Fig. 1 is a partial front elevation of a machine equipped with my attachment, certain parts being omitted for clearness of disclosure,

Fig. 2, a partial plan,

C{*ig. 3, a vertical section with parts omitte Fig. 4, a fragmentary vertical section, on

an enlarged scale, showing an end view of a control device. v

Fig. 5, a detail of a pattern chain,

Fig. 6, a plan of the control device,

Fig. 7, a detail of a ratchet mechanism shown in Fig. 1, I

Fig. 8,.a plan of the same ratchet mechanism,

Fig. 9, a

- the improved machine, and

Fig. 10, a diagrammatic showing of the border line of a reinforced section. 1

In the drawings, reference character 10 indicates generally the frame of the machine. A needle bar 11 on the frame carries a series 0f fixed needles l2, coacting with sinkers 13 fragment of a stocking made by of conventional character in the knitting of yarn supplied by guides of conventional character, one of which is indicated at 14. The

guides are carried by reciprocating bars 15, of which the one at A and B supply the yarns for splicing or reinforcing the sole.

The bars A and B are provided with opposed screws 16 supported by brackets 17 and arranged to strike against stops 18, here shown as independently adjustable screws at opposite ends of a rotary drum or cylinder 19 provided with ratchet teeth 20 at one end, this drum being supported on a bracket 21 fixed to a rod 22 by means of a lever 23 pivoted at 24 said lever being adjustable by means of a setscrew 25 to move the drum in a manner to bring screws 18 into alinement with screws 16. The screws are secured in ad usted position by locking nuts 18'.

The ratchet is actuated to turn the drum by means of a pawl 26 (Figs. 3 and 4) ivotally supported on a rockarm 27 and drawn toward the ratchet by a spring 28. A link 29 is adjustably connected to the rockarm at one end and at the other end to a lever 30 carrying a roller 31. The lever is supported at its front end by a'prop 32 (Figs. 1 and 3) adjustably connected by a link 33 to a bent lever 34. A spring 35 tends to move the lever counterclockwise and this movement is limited bya setscrew 36 (Fig. 1)

The bent lever 34 is moved to take the prop out from under the lever 30 by means oflugs 37 on a pattern chain 38 passing about a combined sprocket and ratchet 39 driven by a pawl 40 which is constantly operated by means of a lever 41 while the machine is running, said lever (Fig. 3) carrying a roller bearing against a cam 42 on the main shaft 43 of the machine, A lug 44 on the chain 38 strikes a nose 45 on the pawl 40 to stop the movement of the chain when the stocking is completed, it being understood that in the machine shown in the drawings the foot only of the stocking is added to a leg made on another machine known as a logger. The ratchet is'turned to carry the lug 44 away from the nose and permit the pawl to resume operation of the ratchet, by means of a foot lever 46 carried on a pivot on the machine I ratchet 20, the lever being frame said lever bearing a pawl 47 coacting with the ratchet. Lu 48 of a third series on the chain act on a dipending nose of a lever 49 to control the axial reciprocation of the main shaft 43 through cams 50 (Fig. 2), this mechanism being old and well understood by those skilled in the knitting art. A cam 51 on the main shaft actuates the'lever to operate the convenient means, e. g., by the weight of the roller 31.

i In the operation of the machine the conventional parts, whether illustrated or not, operate in the usual manner of footers. Just before the knitting of the stocking is completed to the point marked a in Fig. 9, a lug 37 strikes the nose of the bent lever 34 and tilts it to move the prop 32out from under the lever 30. Thereupon the roller 31 rests on the cam 51 and the ratchet 20 is operated to rotate the drum one step away from the osition in which the guides for the reinforc- I mg yarn have their shortest or normal travel.

to which position the drum is moved either automatically or otherwise prior to the commencement of the stocking foot. Thls movement brings the drum into the position where the 'des have their next longer stroke, there widening the sole reinforcement to start the incline extending from a to b. As a practical matter it is convenient to let the machine knit several courses before the next widening of the spliced areas occurs, though the widening could be made after a single stroke in each direction. When therefore the drum has been moved a step from the position of greatest distance between the heads of the screws 18 (the position of shortest stroke of the sole reinforcing guides) the lug 37 moves out from under the nose of the bent lever 34, and the spring brings it back against setscrew 36, thereby returning prop 32 precisely far enough under lever 30 to support it pro rly, so that the lever 30 Wlll be held up as t e cam 51 moves out from under the front end thereof to to descend.

After a predetermined number of courses another lug 37 comes into position to trip the lever 34 and the drum 19 is again turned one step to lengthen the stroke of the sole reinforcing guides, this being repeated until the drum has made a complete rotation, or as often as may be desired to produce the required effect, and the action ceasing as the point b is reached in Fig. 9.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that my attachment may be utilized to provide 5 cial spliced areas at other parts of a stocking, or in other articles or fabrics, and that many changes may be made therein, all without departing from the spirit of the invention; therefore I do not limit myself to the specific embodiment thereof illustrate returned by any permit the same in the drawings and described in the specification, the true scope of the invention being indicated in the appended claims. While have shown a full-fashioned machine in which the stocking is knitted from top to toe in accordance with the usual practice it is within the contemplation of my invention to embody the same in a machine knitting from toe to to as has been variously proposed.

It wil be evident also that by appropriate changes in the positions of the lugs 37 the widenings at the inner side of the spliced areas in the heel and adjacent the toe may be made to occur after any predetermined number of courses, whereas by appropriate adjustment of the screws 18 the steps in widening may be made to extend over a width of any desired number of needles, e. two, four, six, etc. This is of great utility in achieving artistic effects in the ornamentation of a stocking by means of supplemental yarns. In Figures 9 and 10 it will be seen that the steps nearest the top of the heel are relatively high and narrow, decreasing progressively in height and'increasing progressively in width, until the lowermost steps are relatively quite low and much wider than the uppermost steps. In the reinforcement adjacent the toe the steps farthest from the point of. the toe are low and wide, increasing progressively in height and decreasing in width toward the left in Fig. 9. In each case the result is a curved line, or approximately so, it being understood that it is impracticable to change the width in each course, the general effect on the eye being however that of a curve which may be considered as formed by a line drawn through the inner points or angles of the steps, instead of a straight line such as is the general effect in Patent 1120419 to Smith, where a line drawn through the points of the steps there shown would be straight.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

- 1. In a straight knitting machine, a series of needles, a main yarn guide for a body yarn, splicing yarn guides for reinforcing the sides of a stockin blank, means for limiting the travel of said splicin yarn guides variably including a rotary lrum, carrier bars for said splicing yarn guides, abutments on said bars, stops on said drum coacting with said abutments, mechanism for rotating said drum including a lever, a cam for oscillatin the lever, a pivoted support having a shou der for holding said lever away from said cam, a second lever connected to said support, means for moving the second lever in a direction to bring said shoulder into position under the first-named lever, an adjustable abutment for limiting such movement of the second-named lever, and pattern means for actuating said second-named lever to re- 7 bias fixed frame of the machine, a, isvsi: pis

o bsiiy msuntsd on said bracket, said drum being mounted on said lever 011 an ps1- ailsi i0 ihs direct-i011 of mavsmsnt mi said cal-sis? bays, stsps on said drum enacting with said abusmemcs and means fer scijust- 'zsg sins lever its pivsi; to bring ssixi shops ii said sbutmsnis.

In a smmight l mit-sing machins having eries ii'seies, main yam guide for a y ysrza a pair of splicing yam guirlss, resipi'ocsissy carrier bars for said guidss, and abui-msnis on said bars, bhs cembins'sbian shares/iiiof means ioy csnswlling the spiicing yam guides is cause them m "fem; mainimced arsss at oppssits siciss of :2, stacking dank varying in Width stepby-stsp Izhsir inner scig-ss by steps whess height smi width varies pmgressivsiy in inverse ori'er to provide curviiinsm' inner margins for said areas said means comprising s fi zmm, steps on tbs ziz'um having their wuss? ends srrsngefil in sppmzimsisiy h-eiicsi mum's 0E progressivsiy varying aitch for sngiwin abuhmenss W 0n 311s carrier rocis fer sai" spicizig yam 

